Hello guys, our main problem is that we are still missing a player. It would have been nice to have someone from the 2R1B PBF. If we can't I guess we could invite someone one of you knows to join us. And at worst, we can always ask openly in the HiS BGG forums...

Any ideas ?

About which software to use. Since some of us are familiar with it, and since it has more functionalities than his main competitor, cyberboard, I think we should use Vassal.His only drawback is that there is no coherence check when uploading a log. Which means it doesn't check the log we are trying to load starts where the last one ended, so if we load the wrong log it could lead to errors. We'll have to be careful about that.

Last point is ACTS. This is a software which is recommended by a lot of people, and that enable to manage centrally the cards and the dice rolling, and to have a journal of the game.It isn't mandatory as cards and dice can be managed through Vassal, but it prevents cheating, and enables us to have a place where everyone can check the status of the game, without having to connect to Vassal.But of course it means we would need to use two programs for our game instead of just one.

(I got most of the information on VASSAL vs Cyberboard vs ACTS from this thread.)

His only drawback is that there is no coherence check when uploading a log. Which means it doesn't check the log we are trying to load starts where the last one ended, so if we load the wrong log it could lead to errors. We'll have to be careful about that.

Not playing, but I just spotted this comment. That's actually a big deal. You find consistency problems all the time and VASSAL just ignores them. The smoothest experience I've had is Cyberboard + ACTS.

“A prince must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves."

A life, some would argue, is a series of problems. There’s no denying the truth in that – but why get lost in it? Why not rise above the truth… and lead a good life? Shouldn’t we all look at problems as a chance for us to find… solutions?

I will need to sit down with the rule book and a cup of tea sometime in the near future.

Use centralized storage, strictly adhere to a naming/numbering scheme, and make sure all players to know to load only the single most recent logfile for playback prior to making their own logfile. Do those things and it works just fine.

Happy to be your 6th. I think I have played PBF resistance with at least slinkydink, natsume and Machiavellian.I am reasonably experienced with HIS.

I strongly recommend ACTS, with dropbox for the game files.Either Cyberboard or Vassal for the actual game map, etc work OK in my experience: - Vassal looks nicer and does more game management for you - Cyberboard has a check to make sure that files progress cleanly.

1) Are you ok with Martin being our 6th ?2) Are you ok with us using Vassal + ACTS for our game ?3) What is your experience with HiS ? 4) What is your experience with Vassal ?5) Do you have a preference with a specific faction ? Or are you ok with random selection ?

I'll answer first.

1) I'd say Resistance is good enough, so if Natsume, Machiavellian and Slinkydink approve of him, I have no objection.2) It seems like the best option. I don't really worry about cheaters, but ACTS will enable us to have a record of our game outside of Vassal (which for some of us might not be accessible at work)3) I own the game and played 2/3 of a game a few years ago. I loved it, but the game length was unfortunately an issue.4) None in a real game, but I started experimenting with it since proposing this game, and it doesn't seem too hard to use.5) No preference for myself.

1) No, not really, he's a tricky bastard, but who knows how long it will take to find a 6th we can pick on more easily 2) Fine with ACTS + Vassal3) Played 1 game in RL (almost finished, ... England was going to win) Currently playing about 6 games via PBEM4) Only through HIS so far5) Happy however it comes.

4) What is your experience with Vassal ?Played quite a few games through Vassal - live as well as PBEM (Eclipse, Mage Knight, Space Empires, Andean Abyss, A Distant Plain, Rommel in the Desert - anyone interested in playing other games too through Vassal, gm me )

5) Do you have a preference with a specific faction ? Or are you ok with random selection ?Random.

“A prince must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves."

A life, some would argue, is a series of problems. There’s no denying the truth in that – but why get lost in it? Why not rise above the truth… and lead a good life? Shouldn’t we all look at problems as a chance for us to find… solutions?

1) Are you ok with Martin being our 6th ? -- Sure.2) Are you ok with us using Vassal + ACTS for our game ? -- Yes.3) What is your experience with HiS ? -- None. I've read reviews and I've wanted to play it for some time now, but I haven't even read the rule book yet.4) What is your experience with Vassal ? -- I've used it to play Hannibal: Carthage vs Rome a fair amount and occasionally for ASL, Unlucky King Charles, and Twilight Struggle.5) Do you have a preference with a specific faction ? Or are you ok with random selection ? -- It doesn't matter to me.

I'm afraid I wont be able to play. It seems I have other real life commitments coming up soon that I need to take care of and from my understanding this is a very intense/time consuming game.

Good luck everyone

For those who have played is it actually intense/time consuming?Or is it just that it takes a long time?

Well, Martin would be the best to answer that since he is the only one among us who alreadu played HiS in PBEM form.

But from my experience (one play in realtime) I don't think so. It would probably take some time at first to learn the rules, but none of them are really complex (even if they are a lot of them).And we could certainly take the time to play at a rythm which is confortable for everyone.

Does it play that each player does their turn before moving on to the next player?

So something like you play your turn every couple days (half an hour or so) and the whole game takes 3 or 4 months? I don't see it being an issue, but I'd just like to know what kind of commitment we're all getting ourselves into.

The main part of HIS game is the Action Phase. During this each player in order has a turn (called an impulse).This consists of playing one card and either:a) doing the event for that cardb) using the command points associated with that card to do regular actions (move , build units, etc)

Then the next player has their impulse.

There are a few cards (response cards) which allow you to play them during another player's turn (e.g. Foul Weather event prevents ship movement and slows land movememnt).

Combat may also involve each side playing cards (Combat cards).

Most of the game is therefore fairly sequential, changing mainly when there are battles.

There is also a Diplomacy Phase, involving many discussions (except on T1, when is it very limited)

I would say it has much less load than a resistance game for instance.

During Diplomacy phase, there will be some time (probably 48h) of free talk by mail, for people to decide if they agree on some deals.

During Action phase, it will be mostly like that but sometimes the action of one player may necessitate another player to intervene. For instance, he is attacked, he'll need to say if tries to intercept or avoid the attack, if he has a card he wants to play, then roll some dice and maybe retreat. There will be some back and forth...

And there are a few response card which can be played during other people turns, so if someone has such a card and wants to use it, they'll need to follow the game and tell when they want to do it.